Sikhs still being registered under Hindu Marriage Act

Despite the implementation of Anand Marriage Act in December 2016, the marriages of Sikhs are still being registered under Hindu Marriage Act in Punjab. The process to register the marriage is online and one does not finds any tab of Anand Marriage Act. Throughout seven-and-a-half month of his tenure, Captain Amarinder Singh has sent a single letter to all Deputy Commissioner in this regard to brief them about the Anand Marriage Act. The Home Department has no data related to the said Act which was to be forwarded by DCs. The couples whose marriages have been registered under Anand Marriage Act, do not require to get their marriages registered under the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Act, 1969, or any other law. Sikhs had to fight much for the implementation of the Anand Marriage Act. Haryana was the first state to implement Anand Marriage Act, Punjab, Meghalaya and Jharkhand also notified the act later. In Punjab, it was SAD-BJP government which had implemented and notified Anand Marriage Act on April 16, 2016. But once the guard in the state took place, the act was kept on the back burner. According to information, Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar have been authorised to register the marriages under the said act. The marriages which are solemnised at gurdwara’s, are offered a letter, on letter-head of the gurdwaras which has photos of the couple as a proof. The couple with the said letter have to collect the forms from Sewa Kendra and have to register the marriage before Tehsildar or Naib Tehsildar. However, as there is no tab of Anand Marriage Act on the website, the computer automatically rejects the application. Therefore, the marriages solemnized under Anand Marriage Act are being registered under Hindu Marriage Act till date. The Sikh couples who have to apply visa for going abroad, face alot of harassment and the ones who reach foreign shores fail to get facilities.